M/V Sea Lion and her passengers witnessed some pretty amazing Southern Resident Killer Whale activity today! We had only to travel a bit south to Cattle Pass to catch up with a large group of J's and L's that were headed west (unfortunately, it looked like they were heading out of the Salish Sea through the Strait of Juan de Fuca). At first sighting, they appeared to be traveling rather quickly, spread out and sporadically slowing down to forage for their main food source, Chinook...

This afternoon was absolutely, positively, hands-down magical. Our Southern Residents were heading in, and several members of K-pod and L-pod were foraging for salmon near Eagle Point. Sea Hawk left Roche Harbor with this report on our minds, and fair seas and sunshine ahead. We haven't seen our residents for the past few days, so it was exciting to have them back in the area!

But, of course, the best part about whale watching in the San Juan Islands is that you have a chance to...

Today was the kind of day the whales inspired me to remember childhood ways (not too far buried for me, I must admit). Cartwheeling - when the orcas throw their back-end and tail out of the water and over their heads - seemed to be the activity of the day. The orcas performed this behavior for us over and over and over again! If we weren't rocking back and forth upon a boat (safety first!) the southern residents may have inspired me to do a cartwheel or two myself!

Captain Craig, the...